Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Promises We Make To God -- Exodus 19:7-8

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So
Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these
words which the Lord had commanded him.And all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has
spoken we will do!”And Moses brought
back the words of the people to the Lord.”

After God gives Moses the
exact words he is to share with his people at the foot of the mountain, Moses
rushes down and immediately calls the elders to a meeting.There can be no hesitation to carry out the
command of the Lord.One must take time
to hear God’s directions and commands, but one must not hesitate once they are
given.

So Moses shares the exact
words God had commanded him to share – nothing more, nothing less.I wonder how we compare to Moses in that
regard?Do we embellish the words of
God?Do we hold some back?Do we try to make them ‘more acceptable’ to
people?Do we even share them in any
form?

Moses did, and all the people
answered in one united voice, “We will do all that God has spoken (and required
of us).”Do you find that amazing?It is almost unheard of in today’s world, especially
in churches where people have as much education and status in the community as
their pastor has. But I believe it is
still possible, as Henry and Richard Blackaby would suggest (in their book, Spiritual Leadership: Moving People On To
God’s Agenda) if the leader hears from God, and he/she invites the
people to hear from God Himself as well.Then over time, all will indeed be on the same page.The job of the leader is to both seek and
hear God’s direction, but more importantly to help and train the members of
his/her organization to hear God’s voice.How are we doing in this regard?

So
the people promise to obey God’s voice, keep His laws, and be a ‘holy’
nation.The text is interesting at this
point because from verse 7 we understand that Moses shared this with the
elders, but in verse 8, we read “all the people” made the promise
together.It is not clear from scripture
whether the ‘people’ here refers to all the elders, or in fact, all the
people.I would humbly suggest that it
is the former, and indeed, there was likely more difficulty in getting 100%
buy-in from all the ‘people’.But
regardless, the real crucial issue for you and me is to ask ourselves if we
have made promises to God about our willingness to hear His voice, obey His
laws, and be ‘holy’.God says we can do
all of that.He expects it.We often promise to do so.But many of us fail miserably.Is it that we were never sincere about our
promises or is it that we do not stay focused on Him?Our Loving Father continues to wait for us to
do both.

This
passage concludes by telling us that Moses went back to the Lord to report the
answer of the people.But I wonder why
he did that.God had not asked for a
report.God was able and did hear the
response of the people.So why might
Moses have gone back to God on this?Here are some possibilities: First, once again, God may have directed
him to come up the mountain again.We do
not know.Second, Moses was so amazed at
the response of the people that he just wanted to meet with God again and thank
Him for how He worked among the people to get this kind of response.Thirdly, and perhaps as evidenced by the
verses that follow, Moses knew he would need further instructions as to what to
do next, or that God had more instructions to give him.Whatever the reason, Moses realized that he
could not stray far from God in order to implement the plan God had for His
people.He could not do it alone.He needed to be close to the Source of all
that had happened, was happening, and was still to happen for the Israelites.

As
leaders, are you and I there? Do we get
it?Do we understand Who matters in our
leadership?And from Whom our leadership
comes?

As people, are we doing all we can to keep our promises to
God?

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looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken
is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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